Emily Sheridan, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's Eastern Great Lakes Watershed Coordinator, and Brittney Rogers, New York Sea Grant's Extension Aide, present the "New York's Great Lakes" Web site, a partnership project of the two organizations.

Newark, NY, June 12, 2016 - New York Sea Grant, in partnership with The New York State Department of Environmental conservation (NYSDEC), has launched the "New York's Great Lakes" Web site. This online information clearinghouse will serve as a portal through which users can access specific resources related to grant funding, research projects, and the priorities of New York's Great Lakes Action Agenda.

The "Contact Us" feature on the site allows users to submit comments and questions to Great Lakes Watershed Coordinators designated by the NYSDEC. Users may also subscribe to the NY Great Lakes Basin listserv for news, funding opportunity notices, and events.

NYSDEC Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "The new Great Lakes clearinghouse Web site brings us one step closer to addressing the information management and public outreach to diverse audiences across the state. It's also a useful tool in informing the public about New York's Interim Great Lakes Action Agenda."

"This comprehensive web-based resource spotlights the importance of New York's Great Lakes region, the coastal environment, and associated recreational and economic opportunities. This new website is a go-to resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the value and vitality of New York's Great Lakes region," said New York Sea Grant Associate Director Katherine E. Bunting-Howarth.

"This Web site is designed as the launching point for audiences of all backgrounds, from environmental researchers and agency personnel to teachers and students interested in New York's Great Lakes information," said New York's Great Lakes Web site project leader Brittney Rogers, an Extension Aide at the New York Sea Grant's office at Wayne County Cooperative Extension in Newark, NY.

As an example of the types of information and resources available through the new site, the Great Lakes Communities portal provides links to:

The New York Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Program,

The Great Lakes Coastal Resilience Planning Guide published by the NOAA Digital Coast Partnership,

National Weather Service Marine Forecasts, and

The New York State Department of State Office of Planning & Development Geographic Information Gateway.

Personnel with environmental agencies and organizations statewide helped test the website for user-friendliness and provided resources.

This Web site was developed by New York Sea Grant with funding from the Environmental Protection Fund, in support of the Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act of 2006. This website supports the goals of an Interim NYS Great Lakes Action Agenda, a plan for applying ecosystem-based management to complex environmental problems in order to conserve, protect and enhance our irreplaceable Great Lakes natural resources.

More Info: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) was created on July 1, 1970 to combine in a single-agency all-state programs designed to protect and enhance the environment. The agency consists of a Central Office in Albany and an office in each of its nine regions that serve the communities within that region. The department has 24 divisions and offices and a total of approximately 3,000 staffers working in the central and regional offices. More at www.dec.ny.gov.

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University
and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based
programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP
engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting
scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed
to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our
aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated
services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental
sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great
Lakes resources since 1971.

New York Sea Grant maintains Great Lakes offices at SUNY Buffalo, the
Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark and at SUNY Oswego.
In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University
and Stony Brook Manhattan, in the Hudson Valley through Cooperative
Extension in Kingston and at Brooklyn College.